0 out of 6 people found the following review useful:Reprehensible, 31 August 2011

This movie is basically a crime put on film. I wonder what the laws in
Israel were like that this exploitative garbage could even legally be
shown. I can't believe the participants would sign a waiver.

It's horrible in every conceivable way. The humor is boorish and
classless, the set-ups aren't very funny or clever and the bits of real
people they capture aren't interesting. The episode with the large
breasted woman is sad and embarrassing to watch for many reasons. It's
really hard to believe anyone ever thought this thing was funny even
with the changing of attitudes since then.

11 out of 13 people found the following review useful:Serious subject through the Nikkatsu lens, 9 August 2004

On the face of it, this is a very "violent youth" type of exploitation film
but there are some very interesting social matters running through the film.
It revolves around the relationship between Japanese, occupying Americans
and the "half" offspring of the groups.

There are interesting contrasts. Baron's gang runs around in American
military jeeps yet we see through flashback that Baron's hatred of "halfs"
may spring from his sister being raped by a US serviceman. His gang sets up
a "party" with foreigners but they are the most ugly and brutish types
imaginable. We have these ugly stereotypes of whites on the one hand yet
the soundtrack features an on-cameras role by the group "Golden Halfs", five
attractive "half" japanese women.

This is all packaged in a fantastic Suzuki style "exploitation "film. Great
use of color and composition mark the influence of the Seijin Suzuki style
on the director Hasabe. A great film for any "Violent Youth"
fans.

2 out of 5 people found the following review useful:Heavy on visuals, light on story, 21 April 2003

This films story is not very engaging but I found myself enjoying many of
it's moments purely for the visual poetry. The scenes of men and women in
the bath house, the 9crazy?) woman's living space complete with chickens,
the incarnations of the painting of Mt. Fuji on the wall...all these
images
will stay with me for awhile after I have forgotten what the film was
about.
UA gives a good performance as a woman haunted by the rain and Asanobu
does
a good job with what little is given him in the way of character. Don't
expect to come away moved by the drama of the film but you may feel as if
you have been to a rather good gallery showing.

5 out of 8 people found the following review useful:Classic Baseball Film with a bit of History thrown in for good measure, 10 March 2003

The time is 1905, a time when Korea was in the beginning of it's
annexation
by Imperial Japan. Resentment was high against the Japanese and into this
Era came Korea's first Baseball team. The players for the YMCA Baseball
team became a national sensation and Heroes for a country suffering under
Imperialism.

Director Hyeon-seok Kim (Writer for "Joint Security Area" and "The Isle"
amoung others) brings us a light comedy set in an Era that has spawned
mostly very serious and grim films. It's a film that any Baseball genre
fans will instantly recognize with elements from "The Bad News Bears" to
"The Natural" (special note to fans in San Francisco, spot the reference
to
Pac Bell Park!) A group of ragtag beginners play hard and win, rising to
take on the Empire of Japan in the inevitable Good vs. Evil
showdown.

Kang-ho Song (Shiri, J.S.A., The Quiet Family) puts in another great
performance this time in a comedic role as a kind of Babe Ruth of Korea,
Lee
Ho-chang. Lee has the classic struggle between fulfilling his father's
wishes to be a scholar and pursuing his passion for baseball. There's
also
a light love interest between him and Min Jeong-rim (played by Hye-su Kim)
which leads to a hilarious mixup with a love poem and a
will.

All in all, an enjoyable film without too many serious pretentions. Fans
of
Sports Comedies/Baseball Genre films will be very pleased.

9 out of 22 people found the following review useful:Visual Feast in color and composition, 25 April 2002

This film is not for those who are looking for a typical narrative
structure. It can be very chaotic in it's visual style and you may not
completely understand what is going on at all times but if you just let
this
film wash over you with it's vision you will be rewarded.

The plot deals with the rankings in a guild of professional killers. (It
is
a sequel of sorts to Suzuki's earlier film, "Yaju no seishun" (1963) aka.
"Youth of the Beast".) This plot is only an excuse for Suzuki's wild and
gorgeous visual style. At times I found myself forgetting the story and
just smiling at a certain shot's composition and color. It's a riot of
color and a pop culture landmark, do yourself a favor and look for
it.

10 out of 14 people found the following review useful:Masterful filmmaking, 22 April 2002

This is another very quiet film by Hur about the relationship between two
people. Like "Christmas in August" the direction is such that excessive
dialogue is unnecessary. We know what the two people involved are
thinking
at all times through their eyes, the way the look (or don't look) at each
other.

It's a story that anyone who has had any experience in love will
immediately
recognize and get that "I have been there" feeling. The film doesn't
sympathize with one person or the other but you probably will empathize
with
one of them based on your own experiences in love and loss. Two people
fall
in love, one of them falls out of love (or does she?), is anyone to
blame?

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:Interesting history and nice cinematography, plot is slow..., 20 August 2001

This is a the story of an uprising against the Christian factions backed by
France in the Cheju island region of Southern Korea. The scenery is quite
beautiful and it's very educational from a historical standpoint but the
storytelling leaves something to be desired. The characters were never
really developed too well and you will probably be checking you watch
during
the last half of the film.

1 out of 3 people found the following review useful:See it for Brad Allen's footwork alone.., 5 April 2001

The movies weak points have been well explained by other's so far. I want
to mention what a great job the Australian Brad Allen does. Not only does
he steal the show from Chan during the fight scenes (despite the fact that
he is six inches shorter) but his acting is actually pretty good as well!
Allen has been on Chan's stunt team for awhile, kudos to Chan for giving
him
a chance in the spotlight.

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:Complex drama about film and east/west relations, 13 March 2001

This film is about so many things. Most obvious is the hold that film can
have over an audience and how capturing life on film can be a kind of magic.
There is also the tense relationship between China and the West as many
Chinese saw (probably rightly so) the "Barbarians" as trying to take over
and pollute their way of life. Liu even seeks to preserve their way of life
on film because he sees that it will one day disappear. Their is also Liu's
internal conflict between the loyalties and traditions of China versus the
self-determination philosophy of the West. All these themes are woven quite
skillfully into a coherent and enjoyable whole by Hu. A very enjoyable
film.

5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:Trippy Sci-Fi sex romp that's fun for awhile, 13 March 2001

This experimental sex movie is kind of a sequel to Blade runner. It's
book-ended by scenes that are a cheesy homage to the film and the sex
robots
are supposedly replicants. It's very funny at times and is certainly
diverting with it's relentless intercutting of neo-psychedelic special
effects with wild camera angles, but this soon all wears a bit thin.
Mercifully the version I saw was only 73 minutes long. I enjoyed it and
found it exciting but soon started looking at my watch when it was
apparent
that nothing was really going to happen beyond sex scene after sex
scene.